Living with Food Allergies, 2013 and on

[CMdeux]

So today I will be:

• calling MedicAlert to get two new stainless bracelets for my DD-- one in English to use in the UK, and one in French for our time in that country
• figuring out which crackers, crispbread, and ramen brands are likely to be available at small markets and tiny convenience shops in the UK-- oh, and which of those brands is anything like safe for her given that she is almond-allergic.
• tracking my order of over $100 worth of freeze-dried fruit and vegetables
• compiling a list of forms that our allergist will need to sign
• compiling a list of medications that we'll need scripts for-- both paper and actual

And all of this time, there is a part of me wondering if other people travel without really even THINKING about this stuff... and knowing that they do not, I'm puzzled.  What does that feel like??  To not worry about being able to feed yourself/your child safely?  What are other people thinking about before a major trip overseas??

[PurpleCat]

Ironically....When I went overseas a few times before marriage and way before allergies...my biggest planning was:

To change some currency for the start of my trip
to buy a few cans of tuna and a jar of peanut butter!!!!!
pack

Yep!  Peanut butter!  And boy was I glad to have it a few nights when my destination did not allow for a meal.  I could always find some kind of bread or crackers.  I ate a few meals that way!  Tuna was a pain because I did not have a can opener - LOL - that's not an issue anymore  really?  I'm that old??? no flip top, packet or pull off cover?

[Macabre]

Did not even open before deleting. Believe me--my eating shrimp is the OPPOSITE of sexy. Quite.

[CMdeux]

Well, that dinner might be a lot of things, but "lovely" probably isn't one of them.  LOL.

Yeah, calling anaphylaxis "sexy" is.... well, that is really, REALLY-- REALLY creepy and weird.

I don't often offer imperatives in doling out advice.  But here goes.

Run away from someone that thinks that anaphylaxis makes you more "romantic" in any way.   

[ajasfolks2]

It is BEYOND WONDERFUL to not be dealing with stupid bleeping school Valentine's parties tomorrow and the candy stupidity and the Cupcake Queenies.

Yeah, baby!

[TabiCat]

If only !!!

[joanna5]

What gets me is how even now, after eight years of managing D's allergies, it just feels like every.freaking.thing in life is about food.  Not even that it's everywhere, although it is, but that everything that happens we have to filter through the FA lens.  We moved this summer.  My oldest isn't one to make friends quickly and was thrilled to get a call to invite him for a playdate... which is great, but means you have to have the awkward allergy conversation.  Another friend asked if he wanted to go to a local baseball camp over vacation and carpool.  Again, great, but there are emails/phone calls involved. 

(Ironically, both worked out beautifully, but it's sad that even in the best case scenario, it's still all about the FAs.)

[GoingNuts]

Joanna, I hear you.  Everything is viewed through that lens.  Everything.

This morning when Inheard about the American/US Air merger, my first thought was, "how will this affect their allergy policy".

My son is I college, so I'm not arranging play dates anymore, but when we spoke earlier and he was telling me about upcoming plans, my first thought was about how food would play into it, how wou ld he handle it, etc.

I hate these damned allergies.  Just hate them.

[Macabre]

US Air has better policies for peanut than American, but not by much. It TNA folks that have to worry about both.

[Macabre]

What's the worst thing my husband could do for me on Valentine's?  Take me out to dinner. I can't imagine anything more stressful.

Fortunately he created a beautiful meal at home and a stress-free Valentine's Day!

[Janelle205]

Agreed, Mac - I have a decent number of safe restaurants here (as long as I order the same thing every time, which luckily are things I really enjoy), but I would not want to go out on Valentine's day - WAY too busy to make me comfortable.

DH and I will be having a special Valentine's dinner tonight after our daughter goes to bed.  Steaks, baked potatoes, steamed veggies.

[krasota]

I had to stop going out for my birthday long before I had food allergies because it's so close to Valentine's Day and the restaurants were full of roses (asthma/migraine/hives trigger) and perfume (ditto).  It's pretty much the worst time of the year for me to leave the house.

[SilverLining]

living with food allergies sucks.  But, the alternative is worse.

So.....time to call another company.  New company, labelling looked good.  I don't even remember what it was.  It's on my phone.  Lol.  We were walking through the grocery store, hubby and I both thought this new label looked good, so I wrote the info in my phone to check.  All I remember is it's a US company, so I don't know if I can trust them about sesame seeds.

[hezzier]

Was in the city today for lunch date with DH, stopped at Whole Foods and found beautifully decorated Fancy Pants Bakery Cookies (very pricey).  DS has never had a cookie like that before, kind of sad the first one is at 8.

[ajasfolks2]

Missed a warning,

"Processed in a facility that processes tree nuts"

on a bread label.

Was directly underneath the BOLDED "Contains soy and wheat" notice.

But it wasn't bolded and either I didn't see or it didn't register as my eyes keyed on the bolded portion.

I may have read the label without reading glasses (now finally truly needed, TYVM).

I caught the mistake on a re-read/re-check at home a couple weeks later . . .

Thankfully, no reaction.  We got lucky. 

So, multiple lessons learned here:

1.  Mom: Reading glasses for ALL LABEL READING!!!
2.  Kids/hubby: Must be certain they are the back up label readers at home or elsewhere.  Trust NOBODY to do it for you.
3.  Everybody:  Breads (baked goods) are notorious for being high-risk.  Never forget this!
4.  Everybody:  Even the near-15+-year-veterans of living with food allergies can make mistakes.  Epinephrine must always be there to help cover for a mistake or the unforeseen.


Lessons learned.

Again.